RMT and PVP

One of the more amusing ways to create a disincentive for goldfarmers, bots, and other fun things that come with real money transfers is to have unrestricted PvP (or nearly so). In EVE Online, for example, there are channels devoted to hunting down gold sellers and AFK miners, and good luck getting involved in the actual game part if half the server has you on its hit list as an eBay twink. If someone can kill you and take your stuff, you are less likely to buy stuff.

In Asheron’s Call, there is the classic story of a Darktide (PvP server) character sold on eBay, advertised as having three Mattekar Robes (are those still worth anything?). Let’s call him Bob. Bob told his friends he was selling the character and where he last logged off. Not long after the sale, “Your friend Bob has logged on.” While new Bob was getting his bearings, old Bob’s friend was traveling through portal space. Old Bob’s friend liked his new robe. Old Bob’s friends also knew which lifestone Bob used. Rough start on the new server, new Bob.

If that story is just an urban legend, please don’t disillusion me.

: Zubon

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3 thoughts on “RMT and PVP”

I do think that CCP has done a good job at “trying” to prevent too much abuse and disruption from RMT and gold farmers. There was an article in one of the E:ON issues about a corporation who hunted down bot miners. I can’t recall which issue though.

As for the urban legend, I’d love that story to be true, and for the sucker who bought Bob’s avatar to have learned his lesson well.

For my take on the whole RMT situation, you can read these posts:
-http://crazykinux.blogspot.com/2005/09/eve-online-and-escapist.html
-http://crazykinux.blogspot.com/2006/01/pc-gamer-kicks-gold-farmers-out.html

Problem with bot miners is too often times its a real person. Unfortunately that is the nature of EVE mining… it is that horrible that no one would realistically mine it as a playstyle. Every miner I know burned out in a month or bought a second account to dual box a combat character while they pretty much AFK mined. I also knew a guy that was quitting the game and suicided a bunch of Ravens into AFK miners in 1.0 security space. He lost a Raven every time, but he had the ISK to blow before he quit and it made sure he wouldn’t be coming back.

Anyways RMT will exist anytime there is another foozle out there that people can buy with in game gold. I am much more the fan of what WoW is slowly working towards. Bind on Pick Up items that you collect via raiding. Once you have enough you simply trade them in for your item of choice. Beats DKP at the same time :)

There’s no real money in AFK-mining, anyway. Takes a bit more effort, but corp-sized orders of full-region insta sets make money probably about as fast as 0.0 megaspawns. Much safer, too. Good thing it can’t be macro’d.